


a drop in the bucket

by kingstier



Category: Tiger & Bunny
Genre: M/M, no powers, or at least its an attempt at one, spy AU
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-11-16
Updated: 2014-11-16
Packaged: 2018-02-25 15:45:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2627243
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kingstier/pseuds/kingstier
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"That's not what I'm saying. We're partners, there's no way I'm letting you do this alone. So, of course I'm in this with you."</p><p>And Kotetsu has more to say about the subject really, he'd give him a piece of his mind, but Barnaby's face smooths over into something calm and Kotetsu swears on his lucky Mr. Legend underwear that that's a smile on his tired face. </p><p>Or, the one where Kotetsu has an epiphany at the worst possible time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	a drop in the bucket

**Author's Note:**

> based on a discussion i had with my bff about silly romantic spy nerds.  
> for point of reference, i imagine this would've been them sometime between episode 13 and 14 but like, incredibly silly au version

The facts were these. Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, 38, covert operative, is a little past his prime. Barnaby Brooks Jr, 26, covert operative, pretty much at the peak of his youth. Two men on completely opposite ends of a spectrum who were thrown together by a whirlwind so aptly called _you work together or you're fired_. Of course, it might've had something to do with a stone statue in the Medaille area that Kotetsu may or may not have broken even though _we told you to avoid collateral damage so now you're in charge of the rookie_. 

(The statue was ugly anyway, if anything he did them a favor.)

Anyway, _in charge_ was a bit of a stretch. Barnaby "Rookie" Brooks Jr. didn't seem inclined to take orders from men with kittens on their chin or men who squeezed just a bit too much mayonnaise than socially acceptable onto their fried rice. 

They have similar skill sets, though, and not-too-different views on the correctness of their jobs. And even though Barnaby's more of a left-brained thinker and Kotetsu is more of a right brained act-first-think-later, they work together well enough if they put some effort into it. 

So they've been through rough patches, they've seen some stuff, done some stuff. They're basically best friends by now. 

"You know, I really wish they would describe these missions using a word other than _extermination_. It's not like anyone's gonna die." 

"Not intentionally." 

Yeah. Best friends. 

Kotetsu frowns at the back of Barnaby's red leather. "That isn't a very good attitude to have, Bunny." He says as they step into an elevator. "It isn't necessary to kill them."

"Okay, well, what would you prefer then? Neutralize?" Barnaby indulges but doesn't bother sparing him a glance. The elevator rumbles and begins its ascent upwards with faint mechanical clicking through the walls and Barnaby's fingertips tapping a symphony on the wallpapered surface. 

"Collect, maybe." Kotetsu hums. 

" _Collect_ ," Barnaby repeats, hand stilling, looking back at him with a raised brow. "We aren't tax collectors, Kotetsu."

"Get this though," he says and clears his throat, "We're here to collect your life, so give it up!" 

Barnaby makes a face at him, nose scrunched up like he doesn't know whether to say _please stop talking_ or _is that the best you can do?_ And it’s not that Kotetsu is isn’t capable of good one-liners, but the good ones usually only happen spontaneously and during the most inappropriate times. In the end, he decides to let sleeping dogs lie by not saying either of those things. 

Minutes later, they are up in their hotel room getting dressed to impress. 

Not really. This job includes mingling with the wealthy so they just need to blend in. 

"Remember, discreet. We can’t burn another assignment." Barnaby says and gives Kotetsu's reflection in the mirror a stern look. 

"When am I ever not discreet?"

"Oh you mean like that time you rode around a mechanical tiger at a mall and nearly compromised our mission?" 

Kotetsu loudly clears his throat, slightly flushed around his ears, "Don't talk about it. Let it die." He says and flops down onto his bed. 

Barnaby sighs, "Listen here old man, the minute you become a liability I will not hesitate to abandon you like a pile of steaming garbage."

"Got it." Kotetsu waves a hand dismissively, looking through the holographic ballroom blueprints on his call band slash fully functioning watch (courtesy of Doc Saito from over in Technical Intelligence of course). "Anyway, so, there are five possible exits- not including those huge floor to ceiling windows, that would make fifteen." 

They've got one objective. Apprehend a one Dr. Rotwang for illegal mass manufacturing of _androids_ , of all things. 

It's simple enough, then, in theory. Warm up to Rotwang with fancy robot talk, get the guy alone, then knock him out and bring him back to base and call it a day. Of course, Barnaby muses, it's always easier said than done. Fingers working with deft movement, he tugs the fabric of his tie into a clean knot by his neck. 

"A lot of the rooms accessible through those doors around the ballroom are empty tonight. Except for the main door, that one leads to the front of the hotel." Kotetsu notes. 

Barnaby brings up the map on his own call band, a watch nearly weightless and with less bulk than Kotetsu's, and synchronizes with him. Several exit plans highlight the hallways and rooms on the hologram should their cover be blown- plans of which Barnaby actually trusts, because Kotetsu is capable of that much at least. And Kotetsu is a lot of things, unprofessional at times, sure; clumsy, definitely; but inept is not one of them. He may be old and out of sorts with the job but he's been at it for years longer than Barnaby can even imagine; he's good at what he does so Barnaby can't help but put at least a little bit of trust in him. 

"Do you have your cover straight?”

Kotetsu snickers lightly under his breath, “Yeah,” he stands from where he’s sitting on the bed with a shrug and a grand sweep of his arms, “I’m the great Bunny Brooks Jr.’s fiancé and we are madly, _desperately_ in love. And see this ring, right here,” he points to the ring on his left hand, “Cost nearly six million Stern dollars.”

“Can you be serious for once?”

“I am serious!” Kotetsu protests, moving over to the mirror to fasten his tie. 

After watching him fumble around with the fabric for a bit, Barnaby has to ask, "Do you need help with that?"

"No way! I've got this, Bunny." All he gets is an eye roll in return. Kotetsu raises his pinky fingers high in the air, attempting the tie again, “So I’m working on my snobby rich person act, how is it?”

Barnaby cocks his hip and crosses his arms over his chest, the absolute poster child of sass, “It makes me want to drop kick you down to the first floor.”

“Completely spot on then.”

* 

They step into the event room together and Kotetsu drinks in the grandeur of the bright lights and lavishly dressed people. The crystal chandelier in the center of the room is brilliant enough that if he stares at it for a second too long his retinas start to burn. It lives up to expectations, really, from the expensive designer brand shoes that he tries not to step on, to the ornate design of the windows that lead out into a light polluted sky. And it isn’t like he anticipated any less from a five star hotel located smack dab in the heart of the Gold stage, but he’s a humble man living in Bronze who just so happens to have a very specific skill set so it’s not surprising to say he was a little inundated.

A server passes him by with drinks on a tray and he snatches one up, downing down the half-filled flute glass and savoring the cool trickle of falsified confidence down his throat like it's Liquid Luck.

(“No drinking on the job.”

“I’m just blending in.”)

Barnaby, on the other hand, looks like he fits in perfectly with his gilded hair and meticulously tailored suit. He doesn’t miss a single beat, greeting people with a shake of a hand and his million dollar smile. 

Kotetsu goes along with the motions. He shakes people’s manicured and exfoliated hands ("Hi! I'm Barnaby's devilishly handsome fiancé.") and laughs at unfunny jokes ("- and so I said, you're fired!" Kotetsu really had to force out a chuckle at that one) with one hand on Barnaby’s narrow waist and another barely filled glass in the other.

While Barnaby mingles with the other guests and talks business and corporate, Kotetsu _discreetly_ scopes out the room. At one end is a small elevated stage where a microphone is set up, and to the left are the refreshments and buffet tables (Kotetsu makes a mental note to take some grub back to their hotel room later).

"So, how did you two meet?" The business man with an impressive amount of hair on his upper lip asks, snapping Kotetsu's attention back to their conversation. 

Kotetsu grins and leans more heavily on Barnaby's shoulder, "On a cruise, if you can believe it! It was a nice cruise too: deluxe cruise ship, super fancy, expensive, and-" he panics for a split second, at a loss for anymore adjectives, "-intelligent."

"Intelligent?" Business Man quirks a brow. 

"He means illuminating." Barnaby interjects quickly, "The- ship, at night, was illuminated beautifully by the stars."

Business Man and his wife Business Woman share a light laugh and nod in agreement and Kotetsu pats Barnaby on the back, "Right, right, that's the word I was looking for! And you know, that illuminating view isn't anything like a view from a penthouse. Can't even see the stars in the city. From a penthouse."

"Yes," Business Woman says slowly, "That does sound incredibly romantic though, it's been a while since we've been on a cruise ourselves."

"Romantic, yeah totally, Bunny here is an expert at romantic. In fact, when he proposed-" Barnaby elbows him sharply in warning and he coughs, "Big event. Huge; diamonds, blocks of gold as decorations, etcetera. Gotta do something with all that money, haha, right?"

The couple gives each other this sort of _what are we dealing with here_ look and Barnaby painfully pinches his side. Kotetsu realizes he probably sounds like a gold digger with his head up his ass or something, "Um, not that the money is important, because Bunny's heart is the most important thing. He's like really devoted to his work, he's really smart- like both book smart and not book smart-"

He pauses. Kotetsu scratches at his beard and surprises himself by actually trying to think about it, "He can be pretty funny sometimes? I mean, his humor's pretty dry but you get used to it. And also, he's good with kids even if he refuses to admit it. Huh.." Barnaby is a lot of things actually. He complains about Kotetsu's reckless work habits, but he's pretty reckless himself (he definitely masks it with smart sounding words, without a doubt) and lately, has more often than not gone along with Kotetsu's terrible plan of actions. 

"Oh! I think I see a colleague from work over there," Barnaby looks off into the distance, "If you'll excuse us." He says and tugs at Kotetsu's arm. At a safe distance away, Barnaby lets out a long suffering sigh, "That was terrible. I don't know if I even want to know if that was you being serious or not."

He's still a bit of a stick in the mud though, Kotetsu thinks. "In my defense, I've never been a rich person. So."

Barnaby shakes his head and the light bounces off every meticulous little curl. "Have you found him yet?"

"Nope." Kotetsu sobers (read: resolutely tries to stop thinking about Barnaby) and glances around the sea of people again, "Still clear, still clean."

"This is taking longer than expected." Barnaby huffs, "The main event should be starting soon. And half of these people have never even talked to the guy, I can't get a single piece of information that we don't already know."

"It's fine, we still have time." Kotetsu says just as someone else walks up to them for another round of introductions. 

Kotetsu, if it wasn't obvious enough already, wasn't much of a sweet-talker when it came to important business people- that's Barnaby's fort- and he knows it; there's no metaphorical wool pulled over his eyes. It's precisely why he was assigned (okay, so they split the responsibilities) the job of lookout for the potentially crazy robot scientist.

He sweeps the room again. Stage over there, rather delicious looking food items there, and to the right are the high arched windows-

Kotetsu halts and Barnaby's voice going on and on about stocks fades into background; standing by the window is Rotwang (the billow of his grayed hair is a dead giveaway) but the man he's talking to is an important figure that even Kotetsu can recognize. 

It's Apollon Media Entertainment's CEO. 

By the looks of it, Rotwang and Maverick are not exchanging pleasantries. They're motioning with their hands in angry, jerky movements and there’s a grave downturn of their mouths. It's strange, Kotetsu thinks, because Maverick should have been aware that he and Barnaby were infiltrating this party tonight. 

It's not like Maverick was personally involved in this either, he was the CEO, sure, but he spent his time handling legal work and running Apollon Media Entertainment. He was a busy man who hardly even stopped by their Official-Unoffical Base of Operations located directly under the Apollon building itself- which, by that point underground was known as A.M.E. or, the _Anti-Malversation Enforcement_.

Maverick walks off, leaving Rotwang to stare into his flute of champagne. There is a lull in the conversation between Barnaby and a man with a pretty gold watch on both wrists and Kotetsu takes the chance to lean into Barnaby’s ear, “Target sighted.”

Barnaby gives his waist a small squeeze in affirmation. They excuse themselves and head casually over to the windows where there is a definite lack of guards. "Not much security." He says, and then on an after note, "Please try to tone it down. We're professionals."

"Shut up." Kotetsu grumbles, suddenly incredibly put off by the fingers on his side and the warmth seeping through the fabric of his clothes. 

They plaster on a professional polite smile and bring out their most cheery disposition. "Dr. Rotwang." Barnaby says. 

Rotwang starts and blinks over at them. He straightens his back and offers a hand, "Hello.."

"Barnaby. And this is my partner, Kotetsu."

They shake hands and Barnaby dives in straight for the kill, "Congratulations on your achievement. I've read about your work, the internal musculature you've structured is amazing." He says, which isn't a lie, he _has_ read a bunch of science magazines and scholarly journals. Okay, partly out of mission-related research and partly out of personal interest. 

"Ah yes, do you work in robotics?" 

"No no," he waves it off, "My parents did. They worked on creating a robot that could help others. Unfortunately, their project was cut short due to a few circumstances, but I imagine their robot would be in the same stage as your android by now."

Rotwang hums, his entire demeanor changing similar to the way a mountain crumbles, and takes a sip of his probably lukewarm champagne, "But, well, I must admit though, I couldn't have completed my android without your parent's discoveries."

The line of Barnaby's mouth tightens almost imperceptibly and his back is taut under Kotetsu's hand. "My parent's-?"

"Barnaby Brooks? Was I wrong in assuming he was your namesake? The name sort of tipped me off, and there aren't many _Barnaby's_ I know of."

Barnaby hesitates, "No.. that's right."

"So, you do know Bun- Barnaby's parents?" Kotetsu has to ask. 

"Knew." He twirls the flute through his fingers. "I worked with them before they-" he gestures vaguely with his hands, "Moved on."

"Worked with them?" Kotetsu repeats. 

Barnaby's heart rate picks up, "What does- how long ago was this?" 

"Twenty two years ago, give or take." and Rotwang tilts his head in consideration, "That robot you mentioned. I worked on it, and now, it's the basis for my android C-IS." He says, just slight of gleeful.

Barnaby hardly registers the sound of himself saying _why are you telling me this_ or Rotwang's _you want to know don't you?_

"Do you know who set the fire?" Barnaby grits out then, any and all of his masks dropping right off his face, leaving just impatience and growing anger.  

 _Okay, whoa,_ Kotetsu looks between the two, _this isn't part of the plan_. They are really quickly stepping over into quasi-violent territory so he places what he hopes is a placating hand on Barnaby's arm but surprise, it's immediately shoved off. 

"Do you know who set the fire?" He repeats. 

"It was an electrical fire." They both know that isn't true. Rotwang shrugs, "I don't. I have a hunch, yes, but I don't."

An alarm goes off in Kotetsu's brain. This situation got personal real fast and he can almost see the first kick that's bound to go out. And if that happens, then it'll lead to another kick (and maybe a punch) and will no doubt catch everyone else's attention- successfully blowing their cover and compromising their mission. 

"Calm down a bit, Bunny." Kotetsu whispers. 

"How about this," Rotwang says as the lights in the ballroom start to dim, "Go to the conference room tomorrow and I'll give you a demonstration of the android- the work your parents helped me achieve."

"No way in-" Kotetsu starts to say, but Barnaby beats him to it, "Fine."

"Bunny?!"

Rotwang mocks a bow and steps away, moving over to the stage where they are starting the main event. A spotlight seeks him out and proceeds to follow him all the way to the center of the platform. With the guests and lights focused on Rotwang, it’s impossible to further any attempts at getting him alone somewhere. 

Barnaby jumps back to his senses, swiveling around on his heel.  

"Ohh no Bunny, you're the responsible one here, you can't just- _flake out_ on the job!"

"We're leaving." Barnaby mumbles below Rotwang's words being spoken through a microphone, heading back towards the elevators. Even in the empty hallway they can hear the fading echoes of the ballroom bouncing off the walls. "This is, different." He breathes, "He knows something. I don't know when I'll ever get another chance like this, Kotetsu."

"And what are we gonna do about the report?"

"I don't know!" He snaps, "Tell them he escaped our grasp, to give us another day."

"That's-" Kotetsu stops, biting his tongue. That's right, this is Barnaby, his partner who had his world ripped away from him and was forced to rebuild it himself with only revenge to keep him going. Barnaby who hasn't had a real Christmas in years or- hell, has never even celebrated his birthday with friends. Besides, it’s only a few hours, then they can take Rotwang back to base, right? 

And maybe it's just that Kotetsu is a sap who's compelled to help every person in need, rules be damned, or maybe it's the shadows under Barnaby's eyes and the grim twist of his mouth that makes Kotetsu agree to it. Either way, this is his _partner_ , he needs to be there for him. "Okay."

*

"So you're telling me that _one_ man managed to slip through both of your fingers."

"Yes..?" Kotetsu winces when Agnes pinches the bridge of her nose. 

Agnes slams her hand on a table on the other line of the hologram and Kotetsu jumps. "Apprehend him as soon as possible, don't mess this up!"

"Yes ma'am!" He salutes and says "Tiger and Bunny, over and out!" just a second too late after the line is dead. 

Tossing his watch onto the nightstand, Kotetsu looks over his shoulder at Barnaby who is sitting at his own hotel bed, staring out the window. Usually, Barnaby would've said something along the lines of _stop calling us that_ or _we don't need a team name and it's not even officially approved_. But now he's still and silent and the bedside lamps light him up like he's an unmoving sculpture carved out of gold. 

"What happened back there?" Kotetsu asks, because the silence is thick and the line of Barnaby's back is tense. 

Barnaby fiddles with the black ring on his index finger. "I stepped out of line."

"Huh?"

"I mean, I let my emotions get the best of me. I should know to keep personal matters separate."

"Well hey, you didn't attack him in front of hundreds of people, so I'd say it's not all bad." Kotetsu says, flopping onto his back and staring up at the dull colored ceiling. 

Barnaby doesn't answer. From the corner of his eye, Kotetsu can see him slowly crawl onto his side, curled up tightly into a ball and stubbornly not looking anywhere near Kotetsu's general vicinity. It isn't the first time someone’s gotten such a rise out of him- and it's nowhere near as bad as that Martinez fiasco a year ago- but Kotetsu still isn't too sure what the best way to handle it is. 

Barnaby isn't the type to wear his heart on his sleeve nor is Kotetsu the type to be any good at saying the right thing at the right time. "Are you hungry? I didn't get a chance to take some food back with us but maybe I can whip something up-"

"I'm not hungry."

"You haven't had dinner, Bunny."

"I'm not hungry." He says a little more forcefully. 

Okay, well. That's that then. Kotetsu scratches at the five o'clock shadow on his jaw, idly wondering what time he shaved this morning. _We were dispatched at like six, so five maybe?_ And that train of thought eventually makes him wonder how often Bunny shaves his face. 

Three minutes later Kotetsu has figured out that there has never been a time that he's ever actually seen Barnaby with stubble or even just a light shadow. Barnaby's front-page-of-the-magazine model face is always, without fail, as smooth as a baby's butt. 

"-tomorrow."

Kotetsu lifts up his head to peer at Barnaby's back, "Whassat?" he manages to get out rather than a _do you even shave at all_ or _are you an infant in disguise_. 

"The conference room tomorrow, after I find out more about my parents, we'll take him in."

Kotetsu rolls onto his side, "Will that really make you feel better?" he says, propping his chin up on his palm. 

Barnaby turns over onto his other side to give him a quizzical look. 

At least he's finally looking at him now. "Is seeing this robot thing that your parents _may_ or _may not_ have created going to help you move on."

"Moving on isn't the point here." He frowns, the skin between his brows creasing, "I want to know if he stole my parents' work- if he's using it for the exact thing they wanted to prevent. Everything should have been destroyed in that fire." And even from the space of a bed away, Kotetsu can see the vibrant green of his eyes blazing. "You don't have to help, I'll take the blame and do it myself if that's what you're worried about."

What a stubborn man. "That's not what I'm saying. We're partners, there's no way I'm letting you do this alone. So, of course I'm in this with you."

And Kotetsu has more to say about the subject really, he'd give him a piece of his mind, but Barnaby's face smooths over into something calm and Kotetsu swears on his lucky Mr. Legend underwear that that's a smile on his tired face. 

It's not a large happy smile or a mocking grin, if anything it's more of a bashful quirk of the lips, almost as if Barnaby isn't quite sure he's entitled to be smiling at his partner. Kotetsu kind of wants to laugh or cry or something because Barnaby deserves the world and Kotetsu's the one who hasn't even really done anything to help, maybe he's the one that doesn't deserve that smile. 

But then Barnaby whispers "Thanks." and he really _does_ want to cry; there's a pool of lava that bubbles up in the pit of his stomach and warms the entirety of his thoracic cavity and he's positive it isn't acid reflux.

Barnaby is asleep in no time, his lashes fan the tips of his cheeks and his small puffs of air disturb the errant curls by his jaw. And looking at him, well, that's the moment Kotetsu realizes (thanks to previous experience) that he is in some serious Deep Shit.

*

It was a set up.

They knew something was up the second they stepped past the threshold. For one thing, all the lights were off. And another, they were greeted by a glowing pair of red eyes.

Rotwang stands from where he sat at the head chair of the conference table, a rectangular tablet device in his hands, "So you made it."

"This is the.. android?" Kotetsu says slowly, glancing at it again. Apart from its red eyes, its entire body is flesh colored metal.

"C-IS. The first one to be fully activated." 

"Using my parents' work, you mean?" Barnaby tosses out. 

"You got me." He taps something into the tablet and mumbles, "That Safety Mode code was one tough nut to crack though." 

C-IS' eyes flash bright and it lunges towards them. "But I've done too much for you to just whisk me away to jail."

They dodge and Kotetsu's "Whoa, unfair!" Is drowned out by Barnaby's "You knew?"

Rotwang shrugs and backs up towards the windows, "Anonymous tip."

C-IS rushes towards them again. Kotetsu attempts a punch, makes it, and regrets it. He stumbles away with a hiss because, right, _metal_. Barnaby isn't having much luck with his legs either, their signature moves apparently only work with people with skin and bones and nerve endings. 

"Hey," Kotetsu calls out to him, dodging another punch. "There's uh, something I think I really need to say!"

"What? Now?!"

 _Yes, now_ because Kotetsu is going to explode if he holds it in any longer and the danger heightening his senses doesn't help at all, "You're really smart and, you're pretty cute even if you do get on my nerves sometimes!"

"What?!" Barnaby says again, shooting him an incredulous look because what is he _doing?_ Their cover was blown last night, it isn't the time for games! "It's fine, Kotetsu, we're out of character."

Kotetsu stops by the wall, rumbles out a frustrated noise, "No that's not it- on your left!" Barnaby hops out of the way in time and Kotetsu scrubs a hand over his face, "I- I think I actually like you? I don't know, it's weird, cause like, I used to think you were a brat who didn't listen to his seniors-" 

"This isn't the time for this!" Barnaby yells at him, eyes green and wide behind his glasses. 

"If I don't say it now I'll never say it!" Kotetsu flails his hands impatiently, "Okay, Bunny, I really, honestly, like like you- watch out!" High on adrenaline and instinct and something else he's not exactly sure how to classify, Kotetsu pushes Barnaby away and takes the metal foot onto his shoulder with a sickening crack. 

Barnaby leaps back up, he doesn't have the time or luxury to check over Kotetsu; he's running out of energy quickly and his kicks aren't dealing any damage to a hulking piece of metal. And with the android constantly blocking the way towards Rotwang, it's impossible to get the remote away from him. 

Rotwang. 

It's just short of risky but Barnaby has no other options. 

He vaults over the large conference table, ducks a quick fist, and rushes over to Rotwang who is hunched over the remote, huddled against the windows. As expected, the robot slides into his way just before he could reach the man, and Barnaby uses his right foot to kick its feet right out from under it. C-IS tips backwards and Barnaby aims a quick roundhouse right at its core, dropping his weight onto its chest and using the momentum of its fall to send it crashing onto Rotwang and through the window.

Barnaby steadies himself, wincing at the sharp pain in his right foot (man, does metal pack a punch), and peeks over the edge of the building. Rotwang is dangling off the ledge of the window, holding steadfastly to the sliver of metal that lines the edges of the windows. 

Even farther below, the slight shape of C-IS has finally reached land. It crashes into a car with a reverberating echo and sets off various alarms. The robot parts burst and scatter around like paper in a tornado. 

"Help me up!" Rotwang shouts, forearms gripping the building for his dear life. 

He's ignored. "I meant what I said, Bunny."

Barnaby gingerly spins around (his foot is probably sprained at best) just as Kotetsu stomps on the tablet remote and breaks it, trying not to jostle his swollen shoulder. 

Apart from the gaping hole missing a whole lot of glass, the other windows are still intact with the blinds hanging shut. The early morning sun shines in through that one opening, giving them a weird sort of halo of light. 

Kotetsu gives him a tiny smile and Barnaby runs a hand through his hair. "Um," both hands through his hair, "I-" 

Becoming increasingly worried that Barnaby will scrub the hair right off his scalp, Kotetsu waves around his uninjured hand, "It's okay! You don't have to-" he gestures around mindlessly with one hand, "It doesn't have to be right now, okay?"

"You're a foolish old man," he says then, looking incredibly frazzled, "You put too much mayonnaise on everything, you almost never finish paperwork- you- you don't even wear pants with the right inseam sizing! _I can see your socks!_ "

"Hey!" Rotwang calls out again but Kotetsu is busy staring gobsmacked at his partner. 

"I'm not going to pay extra money for a longer inseam!"

Barnaby limps closer and tugs at the unwoven and disheveled tie. "But we're partners, and there really isn't anyone else I trust the way I trust you." and he grins, "So I guess I really, honestly like like you, too." He says, echoing Kotetsu's earlier haphazard confession. 

Rotwang bangs his hand on the ledge, "That's really touching, now get me _off_ of here or I will _die_!"

*

After a hard day's (morning, actually) work, they're all patched up, Kotetsu's arm in a sling and Barnaby's foot bandaged into next week. They're up in their hotel room packing what little things they brought in comfortable silence. 

Kotetsu zips his bag closed, tugs at the fabric of his tie that's hanging loosely off his neck and thinks, there's still time before we're due for debriefing. 

"Bunny." 

And Barnaby looks at him, face peaceful and an easy smile lighting up the bow of his lips. If Kotetsu knew how to steer a ship, he'd probably sail to the ends of the earth for that smile. But he doesn't, so he does the next best thing. 

He holds up the two ends of his tie, flapping them around in the air, "I'll cash in that offer now."

Blond brows furrow just slightly like he's holding back a laugh, "Can't even tie it one-handed?" he says, pulling Kotetsu closer. He crosses the ends of the fabric, loops it, then repeats one more time. 

Barnaby pats the fastened tie once he's done and makes the mistake of glancing up. 

Kotetsu makes the mistake of holding eye contact. 

The light bounces off Barnaby's hexagonal glasses and his eyes sparkle like rays of sunshine in the daybreak. So, maybe it's just Kotetsu being blinded by his newly acknowledged infatuation-or-something-of-the-sort. Dust motes gather around aureate curls and Kotetsu is kind of compelled to lean in and close his eyes. 

As far as first kisses with someone goes, this one is soft and light and nothing short of sickly sweet. The line of their Cupid's bow press shyly together and Kotetsu can almost taste the faint vanilla of Barnaby's lip balm. 

He pulls back a little quickly though, because he feels like he's sixteen again with a pair of smaller and softer hands in his and any minute now his palms are going to be sweating up a storm. 

Barnaby doesn't look offended by it or anything and Kotetsu really doesn't know what he was so worried about. He takes a slight step back, "Nice work today, partner." He says, holding up a fist between them. 

And it's a silly gesture, really, but Barnaby is entirely helpless to the grin that forces its way onto his own lips so he bumps his fist lightly against it. 

"Partner."


End file.
